The Russian
Air Force has been put on high alert as part of a sudden combat
readiness check ordered by President Vladimir Putin. The Western
media reacted to the drills with headlines accusing Moscow of
preparing for war.
“Today,
in accordance with the order of the [Russian] Armed Forces Supreme
Commander [President Vladimir Putin] a surprise inspection of the
Aerospace Forces has been launched in order to evaluate the readiness
of the military authorities and troops to carry out combat training
missions,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on
Tuesday, as cited by TASS.
He stressed
that “special attention should be paid to the combat alert
missions, deployment of the air defense systems for a time of war and
the readiness of the air groupings to repel aggression.” He
then ordered tactical drills at all relevant military bases and
within all relevant units.
Russian
Aerospace Forces bases, as well as all aviation units, were put on
high alert starting 09:00 Moscow time (06:00 GMT).
Separate
drills were conducted by the air defense units of Russia’s Baltic
Fleet in Russia's western Kaliningrad region bordering Lithuania and
Poland. During the maneuvers, the air defense units equipped with
S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems repelled a massive
attack of a simulated aggressor, involving both airstrikes and
missile strikes.
The S-400
systems successfully hit all 30 air targets during the exercises,
TASS reports, citing a spokesman for the Baltic Fleet.
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